The contest comes as the state is emerging from one of the worst recessions in modern Massachusetts history. Patrick, the state’s first black governor, said he wants a second four-year term to complete his work.

Patrick ticks off a list of achievements such as overhauling auto insurance to allow people to shop around for the best deal, providing civilian flaggers instead of police at some state road construction sites, expanding charter schools, improving the management of public transportation and investing record amounts of money in public education when the bottom was falling out of much of the rest of the state’s budget.

Candidates for Governor

Deval L. PatrickAge: 54Home: MiltonOccupation: Governor, Author of upcoming autobiographyEducation: Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College, 1978; doctorate in law from Harvard School of Law, 1981Experience: Governor from 2007 to present

Patrick and the Democratic-dominated Legislature also raised various taxes including a 25 percent hike last year in the sales tax to 6.25 percent and a $1 increase in the tax on a pack of cigarettes and new levies on multi-state banks, retailers and other big corporations in 2008.

Patrick said he also cut 3,100 jobs and reduced spending to keep the state’s $28 billion budget in balance when tax collections fell during the recession.

“We have done that in face of political head winds we knew we would face and economic headwinds of a sort we didn’t anticipate,” Patrick said.

Baker is attempting to become the first candidate to oust an incumbent governor in Massachusetts since Michael S. Dukakis defeated then-Gov. Edward J. King in a 1982 rematch of their 1978 contest.

Baker, former chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and former secretary of administration and finance under two Republican governors in the 1990’s, said he is running on a platform of increasing jobs, cutting taxes and lowering spending.

Baker said he wants to create a climate that will help ignite the state’s economy.

“I think I have the skill set and experience and the independence to get done what needs to get done: Balance the state’s budget, clean up what I consider to be a really difficult regulatory environment and create a much more accountable state government than the one we have today,” Baker said.

Baker supports cutting the sales tax, the state’s 5.3 percent income tax and the 8.75 percent corporate tax all to 5 percent.

Patrick, Baker and Stein will run on tickets with candidates for lieutenant governor. Cahill’s choice for lieutenant governor dropped out, but will still appear on the ballot.

Cahill started the contest with much promise, but his candidacy slowly began to disintegrate.

Cahill’s campaign faltered after he was hit with negative ads by the Republican Governors Association in May. The Cahill campaign finally imploded in October when his running mate, Paul J. P. Loscocco, a former Republican legislator from Holliston, quit and threw his support to Baker.

Tensions grew after Cahill filed a lawsuit, charging former aides - all former Republican consultants - with conspiring with Baker and the Republican Governors Association to sink his campaign. The aides countered that Cahill was attempting to silence them because they knew that Cahill’s campaign staff and Treasury workers were illegally coordinating efforts. Cahill was forced to pull lottery ads from the airwaves amid an investigation by the attorney general.

The dispute overshadowed Cahill’s message.

People in Western Massachusetts, for example, may be surprised to learn that Cahill is the only candidate for governor who supports a casino bill approved by the state Legislature on July 31, the last day of formal sessions of the state Legislature this year.

“It would be the first bill I would sign,” Cahill said. “If we don’t move this one off the dime, we will be mired in this for the next year or two years.”

Candidates for Lieutenant Governor

Timothy P. MurrayRunning mate: PatrickAge: 42Home: WorcesterOccupation: Massachusetts Lieutenant GovernorEducation: Bachelor’s degree from Fordham University in New York in 1990. Doctorate in law from Western New England College School of Law in Springfield in 1994Experience: Worcester City Council, 1998-2007; Mayor of Worcester, 2002 to 2007

Richard R. TiseiRunning mate: BakerAge: 48Home: WakefieldOccupation: Real estate broker, owner of Northrup Realtors in LynnfieldEducation: Bachelor of arts from American University in Washington in 1984Experience: Member of state House of Representatives, 1985-1990; Member of state Senate, 1991 to present, currently Minority Leader in Senate

Richard P. PurcellRunning mate: SteinAge: 50Home: HolyokeOccupation: Access service representative at Baystate Medical Center in SpringfieldEducation: Equivalent of associate’s degree through various courses taken while in the ArmyExperience: Served in U.S. Army from 1977 to 1983 and then from 1987 to 1991, honorably discharged as a sergeant. Ran unsuccessfully for Holyoke City Council in 2006 and for the Holyoke Charter Commission in 2008

The bill died after Patrick sent it back with an amendment. The bill called for three casino resorts, including one in Western Massachusetts, and seeking bids for two licenses for slot machines at race tracks.

Patrick only supported slots for one track.

Patrick also said the bill was effectively a no-bid contract for two tracks - a former dog track in Raynham and a horse track in Plainville. The state’s two other tracks - the Suffolk Downs horse track in Boston and the former Wonderland dog track in Revere - were working together to pursue a resort casino.

Baker said he would have vetoed the casino bill. Baker said he supported bidding 2,000 slot machines and allowing one casino resort to start. He also said he would have been aggressive about reaching an early compromise with legislators. Cahill also supports cutting the sales tax and the income tax to 5 percent. If elected, he said he would also market “a precision machine valley” in Western Massachusetts to boost an important industry in the region.

Stein is the only candidate who opposes casinos. She said casinos kill too many other jobs especially in restaurants and local theaters.

Stein, a Harvard-trained physician, said her priority would be to create “a new green economy,” including a massive effort to insulate homes, businesses and government buildings. She said that could create 50,000 jobs and save on energy costs. She also wants to promote “a healthy local food economy” that would tie local farms to hospitals and schools to improve nutrition and prevent future health problems.

Stein is also the only candidate to support establishment of a Canadian-style health care system in Massachusetts. She said the government should be the “single payer” for all health care.

She said a such a system would eliminate crushing medical debt, the need for private insurance and mounds of red tape and paperwork that is plaguing hospitals and doctors.

While the media often don’t take her seriously, Stein said her message is important. “People really are hungry for change,” she said.